PASC Meaning

What PASC Means in Audiology

In this context, PASC stands for Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification. It is a specialty credential for audiologists whose clinical work centers on infants, children and adolescents. The name tells you three things at once: the population (pediatric), the profession (audiology), and the nature of the award (a specialty certification layered on top of general audiology practice rather than a replacement for it).

If you landed here looking for a quick definition, that is the whole answer. If you are an audiologist weighing whether to pursue it, the rest of this guide unpacks what the name commits you to: the designation, the issuing body, the eligibility conditions, the exam structure and the ongoing obligations. For other angles on the same question, see our companion explainers on what PASC stands for and what PASC certification is.

The Designation You Earn: BC-PA

Many candidates use "PASC" for both the program and the credential, but the letters you actually place after your name are BC-PA, short for Board Certified in Pediatric Audiology. PASC is the program and exam pathway; BC-PA is the designation that results from completing it. Keeping those two labels distinct helps when you update a résumé, a licensure file or an email signature.

For a broader overview of the credential itself, our pages on what PASC is and the general PASC certification topic cover the same ground from different entry points.

Who Grants It and Why It Is Voluntary

The credential is issued by the American Board of Audiology (ABA). Two features of the program shape how you should think about the name:

• It is voluntary. No regulator requires BC-PA to practice pediatric audiology. It signals depth rather than granting a legal permission.
• It is independent of other certification. Under the current handbook and program page, general ABA certification, the CCC-A and professional membership are not prerequisites. Older materials that tied the specialty to another certification are superseded, including the introduction of the January 2024 handbook.

That independence matters for clinicians who hold a state license and work in pediatric settings but have never pursued other voluntary credentials. The path is open on its own terms, provided you meet the experience and documentation requirements described below.

The Acronym Trap: Why Precision Matters

The letters P-A-S-C appear in several unrelated credentials across different fields. Searching the bare acronym can surface fees, dates and requirements that belong to something else entirely. When you evaluate this credential, anchor every fact to the full name, Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification, and to the ABA as the issuer. If a source does not mention pediatric audiology, the American Board of Audiology or BC-PA, it is not describing this exam.

What the Name Implies About Eligibility

"Specialty" is not a courtesy word here. The application is built to confirm that pediatric work is a substantial part of your practice. Core requirements include:

• A graduate audiology degree from a regionally accredited institution.
• An appropriate audiology license or work authorization. The current handbook requires a permanent U.S. audiology license, or a valid license or work authorization for international and U.S.-territory applicants.
• Paid post-degree professional experience.
• 550 pediatric direct-patient hours and 50 pediatric case-management hours, accrued over two consecutive years within the preceding five years.
• Two professional references, including a supervisor.
• An official transcript, documented experience and an ethics agreement.

Externship hours do not qualify, which is a common point of confusion for recent graduates. The experience must be post-degree paid work.

How the Exam Is Built

The exam is a 120-question test delivered in 2 hours 30 minutes. Of those items, 100 are scored and 20 are unscored beta items used for future exam development. You will not be told which are which, so treat every question as if it counts.

Question style

Every question has four options. Most are single-answer multiple choice with one correct response, but some are multiple-response items with two or three correct answers. Read the stem carefully for any instruction about how many answers to select.

Scoring

Passing is criterion-referenced, set through a modified Angoff standard-setting process and based on your overall raw score across the 100 scored items. Difficulty adjustment is built in, so there is no single fixed universal passing percentage you can memorize. Our explainer on the PASC passing score goes deeper. There is also no guessing penalty, so leaving an item blank gives you no advantage; answer everything.

Delivery rules

• Testing runs through Prolydian with Proctor360 live remote proctoring. Older references to Examity delivery are superseded.
• You need a desktop or laptop, a webcam, a microphone and a private room. Tablets, phones and Chromebooks do not meet the device requirements.
• Expect identity and room checks. Bring current government photo and signature ID matching your registered name.
• Standard testing is English-only and closed book: no calculators, notes, dual monitors or ordinary breaks. Approved accommodations are handled separately.

The Six Content Domains Behind the Name

The exam blueprint defines six formal content domains. The current handbook publishes scored-item allocations of 24, 21, 22, 16, 9 and 8 out of 100, and the ABA's November 13, 2023 blueprint announcement published the matching percentage weights. These are exam content areas, not a study curriculum, but they tell you where the scored items concentrate. The scope source is the ABA Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification Handbook, Edition 23, November 2025. For a deeper tour, read our complete guide to all six PASC exam domains.

One note on naming: the 2023 announcement adds "PATIENTS WITH" to the Domain 1 heading, but the current handbook and live-page wording controls, so the heading above follows that version.

Fees, Windows and Deadlines

The fee structure has two parts: a separate application fee and an exam registration fee. Membership in the Academy changes the price, and the combined figures below exclude membership itself.

A second-certification application receives a USD 50 application-fee reduction. For a full budget view, including renewal, see our PASC certification cost breakdown.

Next testing window

• Application deadline: March 9, 2027
• Exam registration: January 12 to April 13, 2027
• Exam window: May 3 to 17, 2027

Plan backward from the application deadline, because documentation (transcript, references, experience records) takes time to assemble. Our page on PASC exam dates tracks scheduling details.

Results, Pass Rates and Reading Them Correctly

Results arrive approximately eight weeks after the administration. When people ask how selective the exam is, two published numbers cause confusion because they use different denominators:

• The August 6, 2026 issuer report gives a Spring 2026 first-time pass rate of 82.6%.
• In that same report, 20 of 25 candidates passed overall, which is a different calculation from the first-time rate.
• The reported 2025 first-time rate of 86.9% describes a different cohort and should not be mixed with 2026 data.

Small cohorts also mean year-to-year swings tell you little about difficulty on their own. For interpretation, read our PASC pass rate analysis and the broader difficulty guide.

Keeping the Credential Current

BC-PA is not a one-time award. Renewal happens every three years and requires:

• 60 CE hours in total, including 30 pediatric hours, 15 Tier 1 hours and 3 professional-ethics hours.
• Continued ethics and licensure compliance.
• A USD 360 renewal fee for either membership group.

The pediatric, Tier 1 and ethics categories are subsets of the same 60-hour total, not additions to it. Excess hours do not carry forward into the next cycle.

Who Values a Pediatric Audiology Credential

Employers and referral partners that handle children with hearing and balance concerns tend to notice a specialty designation. Typical settings include children's hospitals, pediatric otolaryngology and audiology clinics, early intervention and newborn hearing follow-up programs, cochlear implant centers, and school-based or educational audiology services. Because the credential is voluntary, its value shows up in credibility, differentiation and professional development rather than as a legal requirement. We discuss the career side in our posts on PASC jobs, PASC salary and whether the certification is worth it. We avoid quoting salary numbers here because they vary widely by region and employer.

Sequencing Preparation Around the Blueprint

Because the domains are exam content areas rather than a curriculum, order your preparation by weight and by where your daily practice leaves gaps. A pediatric diagnostics specialist, for example, may need more time on counseling and regulatory content than on test interpretation.

For a fuller method, see our PASC study guide, the one-page PASC cheat sheet and the overview of PASC training options. When you are ready to test your recall under realistic conditions, try the PASC practice tests and review explanations for every miss.

Frequently Asked Questions